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4 Responses

Well, I've performed almost every search I can think of in Google and on Yelp to try to find a quote from the horse's mouth on this. I'm amazed that searches like 'virtual business on yelp', 'business shouldn't be on yelp', 'qualify for inclusion in Yelp' and the like aren't bringing up anything. The closest I'm getting is this quote from Yelp's Support Center (https://biz.yelp.com/support/common_questions):

I'm a business owner and don't want my business to be listed on Yelp — can I have it removed from Yelp?

Consumers have the right to talk about what they like (and don't like) about a meal they ate, a plumber they hired, or a car wash they visited. We don't remove business listings, so your best bet is to engage with your fans and critics alike, and hear what they have to say.

So, apparently, whether you want to be on Yelp or not, you can't petition to have you listing removed. Looks like you are stuck with it (which may not be a bad thing) until such time as Yelp may or may not notice that your business is virtual.

My understanding of Yelp has always been that it is exclusively for local business listings. Likely, your listing there is the result of some mistake, but it doesn't look like there is anything you can do about it. Your question here certainly has made me wonder what percentage of non-Local businesses may actually be listed on Yelp. Interesting!

It's possible that it will be removed - Yelp have an active editorial team. But, if it's listed currently, why not benefit from the extra reach and exposure? Send some emails out to existing clients (not an artificial set of super-fans) and let reviews happen organically. If Yelp later decides to de-list you, that's their prerogative. But in the meantime, why not get great exposure on a trusted platform that ranks like gangbusters?

Thanks for following up. So...sounds like, true to form, they are willing to consolidate, but not remove, your listing. Agree with Grasshopper. If you've accidentally ended up in a loophole, it may actually benefit you. You've done what you can to make Yelp aware of the situation to no avail. I guess you'll just have to leave it at that.

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